How Sam Howell, Commanders Bounced Back Following Patriots’ End Zone Pick

FOXBORO, Mass. -- The Patriots and Commanders met for the first time since 2019 with Washington coming out on top 20-17, snapping a two-game losing streak to New England.

Washington was trailing New England 14-10 late in the first half when Commanders quarterback Sam Howell marched the offense down the field into Patriots territory.

With nine seconds left, Howell took the snap from shotgun and threw a pass intended for Jahan Dotson in the back of the end zone when Patriots defensive back Kyle Dugger stopped the drive by collecting his second interception in as many weeks.

KYLE DUGGER SAVES THE DAY WITH AN INTERCEPTION!

BACK TO BACK WEEKS WITH A PICK!
pic.twitter.com/33hP7EiBOW

— Tyler Milliken ⚾️ (@tylermilliken_) November 5, 2023

"Obviously, the interception was a big play for us, a chance for us to really get the momentum going into halftime," Howell said after the game. "And that’s probably one of the worst plays I've ever made in my football career. So definitely just got to not do that in that situation."

Commanders head coach Ron Rivera knew Howell wanted that one back.

"He tried to force it. I mean, that play calls for ... it's a quick read. He tries to extend it a little too much and then he saw Jahan coming late, and at that point, just throw it into the endzone," Rivera told reporters after the game. "I mean throw it just completely out of the endzone and that was disappointing. He knows better, and he was really disappointed in himself at halftime."

Howell said Rivera and his teammates are always supportive when he makes a mistake on the field.

"There's not really a whole lot you can say after a play like that," Howell said. "They just try to pick me up and I'm just so grateful to have so many good people around me here, whether it's teammates, coaches and everyone's just had my back throughout this whole entire journey."

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The momentum did shift as the Patriots completed 12 plays on their opening drive of the third quarter, capped off by a Chad Ryland 43-yard field goal for the 17-10 lead. New England did have a little bit of help when Washington was penalized for a controversial roughing the passer call on third-and-10 when Mac Jones was sacked for a loss.

Howell didn't appear to let the interception change his style of play in the second half. The 23-year-old North Carolina product took the Commanders 75 yards, closing the drive with a 33-yard touchdown pass to Dotson.

"I feel like that's one of the main reasons I'm continuing to grow, just the support I've had since I've been here. Players on both sides of the ball, coaches on both sides of the ball," he said. "We were down at halftime, but we knew we were going to find a way to win the game. So just having that support from everybody in the building has been awesome."

Howell finished the game with 325 yards, completing 29 of 45 attempts with one touchdown and one pick. The Commanders completed the comeback win and improved to 4-5 on the season while the Patriots fell to 2-7.